Head of the Swiss delegation Ruedi Noser (L) poses with Swiss Ambassador Martin Aeschbacher (R) at a reception hosted in his honour at the ambassador’s residence on May 28. PICTURE: Najeer


By Salman Siddiqui/Staff Reporter



Swiss parliamentarians are taking back home a “positive” message after a successful meeting with Qatar 2022 Supreme Committee, the head of the visiting Swiss delegation told Gulf Times.
Head of the delegation Ruedi Noser said that some of the MPs that came along with him had close ties with FIFA in Switzerland, where the football association had its headquarters.
“The committee asked us for ideas and we had a good discussion about several topics… What I can say is that we are taking back a very positive message back to Switzerland after our successful meeting with them in Qatar. We were impressed with what the committee was trying to achieve and how it plans to make Qatar a stronger country through the promotion of sports,” he said.
MP Noser, who is also an entrepreneur, said that the delegation also held a fruitful discussion with high ranking officials at the Qatar Financial Center.
He said that in Qatar the financial relationships were based on long term partnerships unlike places like Dubai where the concept of business was like “checking in an hotel and then checking out after a short stay”.
They were also given a trip to the upcoming Lusail city. “We got an opportunity to learn from our Qatari friends about their development projects in Lusail, which left us all impressed,” he said.
He added that unlike in the West, where the concept of development was focused on preserving existing buildings, Qatar had an opportunity to build something new.
Swiss Ambassador Martin Aeschbacher said that this was the first time a delegation of Swiss parliamentarians had visited Qatar. “The visit was extremely useful since the delegation got an idea of different aspects of Qatar. I think we now have to build on this visit,” he said.
The delegation was also given a tour of Al Jazeera yesterday.




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